The present invention relates to a Y-shaped gasket, to a method of fabricating such a gasket, and to the use of such a gasket for reducing the engagement forces of a connector.
With the increasing use of quick connectors, in particular in the automobile industry, developing sealing techniques that have little influence on the engagement forces of such connectors is becoming a major preoccupation. These requirements relate to all fluids such as for example fuel (gasoline, diesel, biofuel), cooling liquid, brake liquid, urea, air, or oil. Certain applications are more critical because of the size of the connectors, such as air duct connectors used mainly for diesel engines, or water duct connectors used in heavy goods vehicles, for example.
The gasket most commonly used in such connectors is an O-ring, because it is inexpensive. Nevertheless, the forces required for engaging a connector fitted with such a gasket are high, in particular when the size of the gasket and/or its compression force increase.
Conventional shaped-section or lip gaskets are generally expensive to fabricate and require a housing that is complex. Furthermore, the fineness of their lips makes them more sensitive to thermal aging and to creep than the above-described solutions.
Finally, Y-gaskets are already known, but they are fabricated using three-matrix molds (one matrix for each branch of the Y-shape) that are difficult and expensive to implement. Furthermore, they lead to flash being formed in the join plane in zones that are functional in terms of mounting and/or sealing (in particular in the recess between the top lips of the Y-shape), thereby harming the intended operation of such zones. Those gaskets have therefore not been used in such couplings for the purpose of reducing engagement forces.
From the above, it can be seen that the greater the fluid flow diameter, the greater the size of the gasket and the greater the engagement forces.